Chhattisgarh saw Maoist collapse and crackdown on 'scams'

Raipur, Dec 25 (PTI) Once considered the CPI (Maoist)’s strongest bastion, Chhattisgarh saw the outfit reduced to a fragile, rudderless structure in 2025, with none of its top leaders active in the state and only a few armed cadres scattered across remote pockets.

During the year, the state also witnessed the murder of freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar by a road construction contractor in Bijapur and the arrest of two Kerala nuns in an alleged trafficking and conversion case.

High-profile arrests by Central agencies in alleged liquor and CGPSC recruitment scams, including those of former minister and Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma and former CM Bhupesh Baghel’s son Chaitanya Baghel, were major flashpoints between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress.

In politics, the BJP consolidated its dominance, sweeping mayoral posts in all 10 municipal corporations for which elections were held in February this year.

Relentless action was witnessed against Naxalism, and the security forces recorded their most significant gains by eliminating six top Maoist operatives. Among them was the outfit’s elusive general secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju (70), neutralised in an encounter on May 21 along the Narayanpur–Bijapur inter-district border.

Other Central Committee members killed included Ramachandra Reddy alias Jairam alias Chalpati (Gariaband, January), Gautam alias Sudhakar (Bijapur, June 5), Modem Balakrishna (Gariaband, September 11), and Raju Dada alias Katta Ramachandra Reddy (63) and Kosa Dada alias Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy (67) in Narayanpur on September 22.

Two more Central Committee members were killed in Jharkhand, and two in Andhra Pradesh, including dreaded commander Madavi Hidma.

The year also witnessed the largest mass surrender in the state’s anti-Maoist history. On October 17, as many as 210 cadres, including Central Committee member Rupesh alias Satish, laid down arms in Jagdalpur. Another Central Committee member, Ramdher, and 11 others turned themselves in at Rajnandgaon in December.

This year, till December 11, security forces killed 281 Maoists, arrested 884 and facilitated the surrender of 1,559 others. At the same time, 23 security personnel and around 40 civilians lost their lives in Maoist-related violence. Of the Maoists killed, 252 were neutralised in the Bastar division alone.

The year began on a grim note with eight District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel and a civilian driver killed in an IED blast in Bijapur on January 6. However, security forces later consolidated their presence and carried out major operations in Abujhmaad, Indravati National Park and the Karregutta hills along the Chhattisgarh–Telangana border—areas once considered Maoist strongholds.

The biggest single operation came on February 9, when 31 Maoists were killed in Bijapur. The security forces, however, suffered another setback on June 9, when Additional Superintendent of Police Akash Rao Girepunje was killed in an IED blast in Sukma.

The intensified crackdown followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s declaration in August 2024, setting March 31, 2026, as the deadline to eradicate Left-wing extremism.

The Vishnu Deo Sai government, which completed two years in office on December 13, reinforced this push through schemes such as the Chhattisgarh Naxal Surrender/Victim Relief and Rehabilitation Policy-2025, Niyad Nella Nar, and Poona Margam – Punarvas se Punarjeevan.

Politically, 2025 belonged firmly to the ruling BJP. In the urban body elections held on February 11, the party swept mayoral posts in all 10 municipal corporations and secured a majority in 35 of 49 municipal councils and 81 of 114 nagar panchayats.

The BJP also won chairperson posts in 81 nagar panchayats, underlining its dominance across urban local bodies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the silver jubilee celebrations of Chhattisgarh’s foundation day on November 1, inaugurating and laying foundation stones for major projects, including the new legislative assembly building and the Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum in Nava Raipur.

The state also hosted the 60th All India Conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police in November.

Central and state agencies mounted sustained action against alleged scams linked to liquor, coal, rice milling, District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds and CGPSC recruitment during the previous Congress regime.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Congress MLA and former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma on January 15 and Chaitanya Baghel, son of former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, on July 18 in connection with the alleged liquor scam.

The ED claimed Lakhma was the main recipient of proceeds of crime, while Chaitanya Baghel allegedly played a key role in handling nearly Rs 1,000 crore generated by the syndicate.

Bhupesh Baghel alleged a political vendetta, linking the action to the opposition by Congress to the cutting of forests and mining by the Adani Group.

In September, the ACB/EOW arrested former IAS officer Niranjan Das and filed supplementary charge sheets naming 29 excise officials. Investigators pegged the scam’s loss to the exchequer at over Rs 2,500 crore.

The CBI, meanwhile, arrested 10 more people in the CGPSC recruitment scam for alleged manipulation of selections between 2020 and 2022 to benefit relatives of officials. Raids were also conducted in March in the Mahadev online betting app case.

The brutal murder of freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar (33) in Bijapur triggered nationwide outrage.

Chandrakar, who had reported on alleged corruption in road construction works, was found dead in a septic tank on January 3. A contractor, Suresh Chandrakar, his two brothers and a supervisor were arrested.

According to police, Suresh was enraged over Mukesh publishing news articles highlighting alleged corruption in his road construction work in Bijapur.

The arrest of two Kerala nuns—Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis—and a tribal man in Durg on charges of trafficking and forced conversion sparked political controversy.

Though they were granted bail on August 2, the case took another turn when the State Women’s Commission sought FIRs based on allegations that the complainants were assaulted by Bajrang Dal workers. Deputy CM Vijay Sharma later announced plans for a stricter anti-conversion law.

A tragic train accident near Bilaspur on November 4 claimed 12 lives when a passenger train rammed into a stationary goods train.

In April, Raipur businessman Dinesh Mirania was among those killed in a terror attack in Pahalgam, while Kashmiri guide Nazakat Ahmad Shah earned praise for saving Chhattisgarh tourists during the incident.

The year also saw lighter moments, including a quirky episode in Gariaband where a villager received calls from cricketers Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers after being allotted a mobile number once used by cricketer Rajat Patidar.

Among other highlights from Chhattisgarh during the year were a Supreme Court-ordered burial of a pastor after a prolonged standoff in Bastar, doubling of the state’s tiger population from 17 in 2022 to 35 in 2025, major investment proposals during CM Sai’s Japan and South Korea visits, the laying of the foundation stone for Chhattisgarh’s first semiconductor unit, and the launch of a Rs 10,000 annual assistance scheme for landless farm labourers. PTI TKP NSK VT VT